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AMEX Cash Back Offers: Too Good to Be True?

May 15, 2023December 20, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

American Express is known for promoting very generous cash back offers such as ones that provide $10 back if you spend $10 or more at a small business. Here are some other recent examples, good deals for sure:

Last week, however, people on a bargain discussion board couldn’t believe their eyes when some of them found this offer in their AMEX account:

*MOUSE PRINT:

That’s right, spend $1,000 in one or more purchases and American Express will give you back a $1,000 statement credit. And you could do it three times! People couldn’t believe it. Then it got even crazier as other people checked their accounts. Most got nothing or a promise of bonus points. But others hit the jackpot, like this lucky cardholder.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Holy ****. Spend $3,000 and get back $6,000!? Keep in mind, this is on the genuine American Express website on a page of offers you see only after you log in to your account. People speculated that the company had been hacked, or there was a typo because the payback was probably meant to be “points” rather than “dollars,” or that some rogue employee decided to maliciously take revenge on the company. Others thought it was real, kept screenshots of the offer they signed up for, and hoped that AMEX would make good on it.

We asked the PR folks at American Express for an explanation. A spokesperson for the company told Consumer World:

“Due to a technical error, a small number of American Express Card Members were shown and subsequently enrolled in a statement credit offer for an incorrect amount. We quickly caught the error and removed the offer. American Express will honor this offer for the limited number of Card Members who enrolled.”

Wow! Hat’s off to American Express for honoring the erroneous offers. And merry Christmas to the several hundred cardholders who were lucky enough to get and enroll in them before they were pulled.

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How to Get Free Shipping From Amazon Without a $25 Minimum Purchase

November 29, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

MrConsumer is probably one of the few people in the world who has not become a member of Amazon Prime — the $119 a year membership program that provides “free” two-day shipping and a host of other benefits. He simply does not buy enough on Amazon to make purchasing the membership worthwhile.

Recently when buying an item which qualified for free shipping for non-members because it was over $25, an onscreen confirmation provided a pleasant surprise:

It indicated that for the next 24 hours, I could place additional orders and not have to meet the $25 minimum for free shipping. What an unexpected offer.

There was some fine print, however, but nothing that significantly diluted the bonus.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The key restrictions are that any new purchases have to be ones shipped by Amazon (rather than a third party) and must go to the same address as the original order.

Obviously, this loophole is a narrow exception aimed at shoppers who forgot to order some less expensive items when placing their larger orders the day before. In any event, thanks, Amazon.

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Thanks for Nothing — Fall 2021

November 1, 2021November 1, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

We continue our series of little annoyances about ads and offers that are often real head-scratchers and might make you chuckle.

Example #1 — $10 Off at Amazon

MrConsumer recently received an email from Amazon with a genuinely great-sounding offer that promised $10 off if you tried their delivery service that sends your order to a pick-up location rather than to your home.

The email had a time-stamp of 6:21 p.m. Coincidentally, I was checking email when the offer came in and immediately clicked the “Claim $10 off now” button. The result:

What? Offer over? It arrived in my mailbox less than a minute earlier.

*MOUSE PRINT:

So this was a speed test? I had to click even faster than less than a minute after receipt? Thanks for nothing, Amazon.

Example #2 — Pants Under $5 at Gap

It looked like such a great deal — a pair of Dockers slacks for less than $10 and with a coupon, the price came down to $4.97. Who could resist? The disclosure at the bottom of the ad killed the deal.

*MOUSE PRINT:

What? Order the pants in October but they won’t arrive until February … if you’re lucky? Thanks for nothing, Gap.

Example #3 — Advertorials Fool Google News

When searching Google News for consumer stories one expects to find legitimate consumer news. But, here’s an excerpt from one recent search.

*MOUSE PRINT:

All three of these “stories” appeared at local newspaper sites around the country but are really advertisements for keto and CBD pills masquerading as reviews of these products. They were able to fool Google’s algorithm that presumably tries to distinguish between bona fide news and advertisements. (And if you think Bing is any better, think again.) Thanks for nothing, Google (and Bing).

Example #4 — Proof Apple Products Are Overpriced

Apple products tend to be very expensive whether it is a new iPhone for over $1,000 or one of their new laptops just unveiled last week for about $2,500. Also introduced was this polishing cloth said to be good for cleaning all Apple display screens.

Of course, you should only use genuine Apple accessories with your Apple products. And at “only $19,” imagine the profit that Apple is making on this schmatta (Yiddish for “little piece of cloth or rag”). Thanks for nothing, Apple.

Example #5 — Hanukkah, Passover, It’s All the Same

Speaking of Yiddish, for some people, it is hard to keep all the Jewish holidays straight in their mind. But those folks are the last ones who should design Jewish-themed products or advertise chazarai (Yiddish for “junk”) like this on a national website.

Thanks for nothing, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Designs Direct. But do enjoy Hanukkah in December, and Passover (“why is this night…”) in April.

If you find an example of an offer suitable for our “Thanks for Nothing” series, please email it to edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks.